Helios Technologies, Inc (NYSE:HLIO) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus: Moderate Buy — Seven analysts give Helios Technologies a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average 12‑month target of $72.75, and several brokers (JPMorgan, KeyCorp, Stifel) have recently raised targets into the ~$80 area or issued overweight/strong‑buy calls.
• Quarterly results beat — Helios reported Q1 EPS of $0.81 versus $0.72 expected and revenue of $210.7M (up 17.4% year‑over‑year), while analysts expect about $2.76 EPS for the full year.
• Dividend and ownership — The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.12 (annualized $0.48, ~0.7% yield), and institutional investors own roughly 94.72% of the stock.

Helios Technologies, Inc (NYSE:HLIO - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.75.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Helios Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Helios Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Helios Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Helios Technologies from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Helios Technologies from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helios Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLIO. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Helios Technologies in the first quarter worth $281,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Helios Technologies by 92.5% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 12,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 6,192 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Helios Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $893,000. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in shares of Helios Technologies by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 5,767 shares of the company's stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 1,624 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Helios Technologies by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,971 shares of the company's stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. 94.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Helios Technologies Price Performance

Shares of HLIO stock opened at $68.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.90. Helios Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $27.12 and a fifty-two week high of $76.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.13 and a beta of 1.25. The business's 50 day moving average price is $68.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.07.

Helios Technologies (NYSE:HLIO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.09. Helios Technologies had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company had revenue of $210.70 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. Helios Technologies's revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Helios Technologies will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Helios Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Helios Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Helios Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.10%.

About Helios Technologies

Helios Technologies, Inc develops and manufactures engineered motion control and electronic control products for a wide range of industrial and mobile equipment applications. The company's Hydraulics segment designs and produces hydraulic cartridge valves, manifold systems, pumps and motors, filtration solutions and off-highway joysticks. Its Electronic Controls segment offers programmable electronic control units, wireless telematics, human-machine interfaces and software to optimize performance, efficiency and safety for equipment OEMs and end users.

Through its global network of manufacturing facilities, service centers and technology centers, Helios Technologies serves markets in agriculture, construction, material handling, mining, municipal and recreational vehicles, as well as industrial automation and infrastructure equipment.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.